Related guide
Christmas Escape Room Ideas: Seven for Mixed Ages
Planning one game for grandparents, parents and a six-year-old on Christmas Eve is a lot to ask.
The Snowglobe Clock
The clock in the snow globe stopped on Christmas Eve. Everyone gets it ticking again.
A Christmas escape room the whole family plays together, grandparents included
In this Christmas escape room, the great clock inside the family's snow globe stopped on Christmas Eve. Everyone helps Wren the clockmaker find its four missing parts, set the hands and open the tower doors on Christmas morning.
- Ages6+ (core 8+)
- Players2–8 players in one team
- Play45–60 minutes
- Print17-page game file
$12.99
Instant download. After payment you land on our thank-you page, and the files come to you by email.
Also in all 7 games for $49.99, about $7.14 a game.
Chapter IThe story
The clock that stopped on Christmas Eve
Inside the family's snow globe sits Hollyberry Hollow, a tiny village with a great clock. On Christmas Eve the clock stopped and four parts went missing.
The players recover the Winding Key from the post office, then the Pendulum, the Clock Hands and the Chime Bell from three places in the village. They set the clock to four remembered moments, say the words that wake it, and open the tower doors on the wall. An original story: no franchise characters and no Santa imagery.
Cover and one inside page, shown whole
Chapter IIWho it’s for
At a glance
- Ages
- Ages 6 and up; the core puzzles aim at 8+.
- Players
- 2–8 players in one team, plus one adult host.
- Play
- Designed for 45–60 minutes with about four players.
- Prep
- Designed for about 20 minutes after printing.
- Hints
- Three graded hints for every puzzle, plus the answer key.
- The finish
- The youngest player opens the tower doors.
An at-home Christmas escape room for grandparents to grandkids
It is written for a family gathering with mixed ages: grandparents, parents and children from about six up, 2–8 players in one team with one adult host. The core puzzles aim at 8+, and the younger players have their own jobs: finding the hidden snowflakes and gingerbread biscuits, matching and counting pictures, colouring the toyshop blocks, holding the light at the pond, setting the clock hands and opening the tower doors at the end.
A DIY Christmas escape room in about 20 minutes of prep
The preparation is designed for about 20 minutes after printing: cut out twelve cards (straight cuts) and hide them, tape the Christmas-morning poster to a wall with the Christmas-Eve poster cut in half over it as two doors, seal it, and fill two envelopes. You need scissors, tape, two envelopes, pencils, a few crayons and a window, lamp or phone torch. A spoon and a glass for the twelve chimes are optional.
Chapter IIIWhat you print
The Christmas escape room printable, page by page
One game file of 17 pages in colour or low-ink, and an 8-page host guide. All US Letter.
Pages 13 and 14 are the big reveal: a two-page wall poster that becomes the tower doors. If your printer allows, print just those two from the colour file even when the rest is low-ink.
- PDFGame, full colourCover, story letters, six puzzles, hidden cards, part cards, the wall poster, labels and seal, ornament tags, certificate.17 pages
- PDFGame, low-inkThe same pages and puzzles on white, the art as light pencil-style drawings.17 pages
- PDFHost guideAt a glance, preparation, running the game, three graded hints per puzzle, answer key, finale script, troubleshooting.8 pages
- TXTStart hereWhat to open first and what to print.1 screen
Chapter IVHow the night runs
The Christmas escape room game, step by step
The host checks every answer and hands over what was earned; nothing is locked. Play is designed for 45–60 minutes with about four players.
The Post Office
You read Wren's letter. The team hunts for the hidden snowflakes, matches them on the Sorting Wall and rebuilds the Parcel Shelf with cut-out parcels and logic clues. The right answer earns the Key card and Envelope 2.
Three places, any order
The team can split up: a fold-and-look-through-the-light puzzle at Frostmere Pond, a colour-by-toy wall in Juniper's Toyshop, and picture sums plus hidden gingerbread biscuits in Marigold's Bakery. Each earns one clock-part card.
The Clock Tower
The team cuts out the clock hands and sets the Great Clock to the moment on each part card, in the order the Pendulum card shows.
Christmas morning
Everyone says the words together, you ring twelve chimes, and the youngest player breaks the seal and opens the tower doors. Ornament tags and the certificate close the evening.
Chapter VHints, prep and answers
What the host needs to know
2–8 players, one host
One team plus one adult host who does not play. Seven or eight players can split up.
Designed for 45–60 minutes
With about four players. This is a design target; no family has timed it yet.
Three hints per puzzle
Graded hints for every puzzle and a full answer key, in the host guide only.
Nothing is locked
You check each answer and hand over what was earned, so nobody gets stuck behind a lock.
Colour or low-ink
Single-sided US Letter at 100% / "Actual size". The low-ink edition keeps every puzzle.
An original story
Hollyberry Hollow and its clockmaker are our own. No franchise characters, no Santa imagery.
How many players can play The Snowglobe Clock?
The Snowglobe Clock is designed for 2–8 players in one team, plus one adult host who does not play. Two players will take longer than the 45–60 minute design target. Seven or eight can split into teams for the three village places, which can be played in any order, side by side.
Warm and cosy, all the way
Snowflakes, a toyshop, a bakery, a frozen pond and a clock tower. The ending is Christmas morning in the village, and the evening closes with ornament tags for the tree and a certificate.
The Snowglobe Clock is one of seven
Get this game and the next six parties
The Snowglobe Clock is one of seven printable escape rooms. The collection adds two birthday games, Halloween, a big group of 8–24, a classroom and a teen detective night, for $49.99 in total: a game for every family date of the year.
Can I create a Christmas escape room at home?
Yes, you can, without writing a single puzzle. Print The Snowglobe Clock, do the prep in the host guide (designed for about 20 minutes), and play it at your table with the tower doors taped to a wall.
Is 2 people too little for an escape room?
Two people are enough for The Snowglobe Clock, which is designed for 2–8 players. Two players will take longer than the 45–60 minute target, since they solve every place themselves.
What is a good Christmas escape room game for adults?
If the adults will play alongside children, The Snowglobe Clock works for grandparents and parents too. For a Christmas game night of teens and adults only, The Halcyon Blackout is harder and has no children's puzzles.
How long does an escape room usually last?
The Snowglobe Clock is designed for 45–60 minutes with about four players. Preparation is designed for about 20 minutes after printing. Both are design targets.
What is a fun game to play at Christmas?
A family escape room is a fun game to play at Christmas, because everyone gets a job. In The Snowglobe Clock the youngest players hunt for snowflakes and open the tower doors, while the older ones take on the core puzzles.
Can a 2 year old do an escape room?
A 2 year old is too young for The Snowglobe Clock, which is for ages 6 and up. Its core puzzles are aimed at 8+, and the younger players from 6 have their own jobs.
What are some fun homemade Christmas games I can play?
A printed escape room is a homemade Christmas game you can play the same evening. The Snowglobe Clock needs about 20 minutes of prep after printing, and you tape the tower doors to your own wall.
Related guide
Related guide from the blog
Pairs well with
You might also need
The Complete Escape Room Collection
The Snowglobe Clock and the six other games, ages 6 to adult.
The Hundred-Year Capsule
Four teams, four trunks, one time capsule. Nobody opens it alone.
- Ages~10 to adult
- Players8–24 players
- Play45–60 minutes
$12.99
Tumble and the Birthday Box
A locked present. A very guilty puppy. Clues all over the house.
- Ages6–9
- Players4–10 children
- Play30–45 minutes
$12.99
The Snowglobe ClockChristmas Family Escape Room